Professional News

Health Sciences Inducts Two into Hall of Fame

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 8, 2010) The University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences inducted two exceptional alumni, Charles Healey and Johnnie H. Miller, into its Hall of Fame during its annual Hall of Fame induction and scholarship recognition dinner, which took place on Oct. 14.

“The College of Health Sciences is home to a wide range of programs producing top-notch medical providers, researchers and educators,” said Lori Gonzalez, dean of the College of Health Sciences. “Charles and Johnnie represent the top-tier of our graduates and we’re incredibly proud to call them our alumni.”


Healey earned his master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from the UK in 1973. After receiving his doctorate in Speech Sciences from Purdue University in 1977, Healey began his continuing career of teaching and research in speech-language pathology at the University of Nebraska.


Healey has presented more than 100 papers on both the national and international level, has produced 55 peer-reviewed scholarly publications, has trained several hundred master’s students in speech-language pathology, has trained six doctoral students and was recently named the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research has received interest in both academia and from clinicians throughout the United States and Canada. 


Healey particularly enjoys the teaching part of his position, which allows him to train his students in a discipline he loves, while also giving them an appreciation for the rigors of
scientific research.


“I know that the better I train students, the better the services they will provide to individuals with communication disorders,” said Healy.


Miller is a 1961 graduate of the Medical Technology program, now called Clinical Laboratory Sciences. Her career spans more than 50 years and includes managing, supervising, teaching, learning and, her favorite, bench work.


Crediting the College of Health Sciences for her education and the successful career it allowed her to pursue, Miller said, “As I report correct results, normal or abnormal, I help someone. My degree has given me the background for this and has given my life special meaning.” Her work has even lead physicians, when they were originally planning a different treatment, to alter their plan and provide more appropriate care.

Not only has Miller helped physicians properly diagnose and treat their patients, but she has also helped those in the UK community on the national level by serving the Alumni Association as president in the chapters in both Chicago and Atlanta. She has also served on the Development Council for the College of Health Sciences, is a UK Fellow, a Life Member of the university’s Alumni Association, a current member of the College of Health Sciences Dean’s Advisory Board and a past recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the UK Alumni Association.


“I am very grateful and overwhelmed with pride,” Miller said regarding her induction into the CHS Hall of Fame. “I am so proud of UK. The overwhelmed feeling rises from knowing the College of Health Sciences is proud of my work and my contributions to the University of Kentucky. I will never be able to say thank you enough. It is simply wonderful.”


The event also provides an opportunity to celebrate with the college’s
student scholarship recipients, where nearly 100 students were recognized.